Rudyard Kipling -- it is the introductory poem to his second collection of "Barrack Room Ballads."
Kipling often began and ended his stories with a poem. The first introduced the subject of the story, and the ending poem summarized it.
He does this with great effect in "Puck of Pook's Hill".
41 posted on 03/14/2023 6:26:47 PM PDT by AnAmericanMother
(Ecce Crucem Domini, fugite partes adversae. Vicit Leo de Tribu Iuda, Radix David, Alleluia!)